Crimea and the Battle for the Black Sea are keys to victory in 2024 — Zelenskyy
The weakening of Russia's positions temporarily occupied Crimea and the Black Sea is a crucial war directive of 2024, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told The Economist on Jan. 1.
Zelenskyy is not so wordy about what Ukraine wants to achieve in 2024, claiming that the leak of information before the counteroffensive last summer helped Russia prepare its defense, the authors note.
Read also: Eighty Russians on board Novocherkassk during missile strike, says Ukrainian Navy
He says that Crimea and the related battle in the Black Sea would become "the war’s gravity center."
The isolation of Crimea and the weakening of the Russian military potential there is extremely important for Ukraine, because it can result in "reducing the number of attacks from this region", Zelenskyy is quoted by The Economist.
Read also: Explosion in Sevastopol result of Ukrainian drone attacks claims occupation authority
In particular, the liberation of Crimea would save Mykolaiv, Kherson, and Odesa from repeated Russian shelling.
A successful operation would be "an example for the whole world" and would have a great effect inside Russia, the President says.
The loss of Crimea, which is now "a central element of Kremlin propaganda," would show that "thousands of Russian officers died only because of Putin's ambitions," Zelenskyy states.
Ukraine is already gaining "incredible victories" on the strategically important peninsula, destroying a "significant number" of ships of the Black Sea Fleet, The Economist said.
The publication noted that British officials have said that one-fifth of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet has been destroyed in just the last four months. Losing the naval bases that Russia has maintained for the past 240 years would be a "tremendous shame" for Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, The Economist stated.
Powerful explosions rocked the port of Feodosia overnight on Dec. 25-26. Ukrainian Air Force commander Mykola Oleshchuk reported a strike on the Russian large landing ship Novocherkassk and expressed his gratitude to Ukrainian pilots.
The Ukrainian Navy reported that at the time of the missile strike on the Novocherkassk landing ship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, there could have been about 80 people on board.
The occupiers acknowledged on Dec. 29 the elimination of 74 sailors, before suddenly deleting the message.
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